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Wednesday, April 23, 2014

Yummy Yogurt, Zero-Waste Style!

We finally found zero waste yogurt!

I was exasperating over the tiny flimsy plastic (No.6 problematic plastic!) cups coupled with cardboard (to burn better?) which my mum kept buying yogurt in at the local store (and sis kept eating!) I like yogurt too, so at times I ate it, with pangs of guilt - no more!

This yogurt is seriously good, locally grown, hand-delivered once a week in pretty (and healthier!) reusable glass containers stored in a reusable cardboard box with some (reusable) newspaper and cardboard as 'buffer'. The cows eat only homegrown feed, according to the farmer, and they don't spray with iffy toxics. Also, we are helping local farmers!

Dad says, 'Why don't you make it?' - the yogurt, but we couldn't produce such consistent resuls, there is some hassle, and sis didn't eat my results last time we tried it. (She's a gourmet eater.) Also, this yogurt lasts for two weeks while ours didn't last so long. It costs a little bit more than store-bought yogurt, but I think it's worth it! We'll make our 'sour milk' in the summer when good results are more easily obtained.

As for the plastic yogurt cups, mum used them for planting tomatoes and peppers. (She 'lost' the previous ones, then found them only at the end of her planting.) We're growing pink tomatoes and some other exotic ones this year, mum's experimenting.

Ever since I heard that plastic yogurt cups do NOT get recycled locally, but burnt at the incinerator, I had a love-and-hate relationship with yogurt. It's good and more easily digested than milk (if you eat dairy products, which I do again, for calcium - I got cramps from calcium supplements! and my scoliosis worsened when I didn't eat dairy - and okay, stayed behind computer too much). So when I heard about this from a friend, I was very happy!

How about you? Any recent zero-waste news? Did you manage to source something good and yummy? How do you eat yogurt or similar non-dairy products? (Alternative rice or almond milks seem to all come in iffy tetrapaks which I tend to stay away from?)

Hey Sooz! :) We send the glass jars back for refilling. (I'm not that much into beads, how eco are they? Or do you get them retro/2nd hand?)

Wow for biodegradable washing up sponges - can you post a link? Still not happy with that chez nous. We have a combo of rewashable cotton cloth rags (for washing the table/countertops - had a biodegradable sponge for that a few times before) and 'usual' non-eco store-bought sponges for dishes.

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About Me

I have been trying to go Zero Waste for almost two years... Experimented with alternatives to shampoo, soaps (we don't need as many as we think we do), have switched to cloth pads (love 'em!) and now buy cheese with a reusable Tupperware-like container.
Where else will the world take me? ;)